I know we talked about more important issues this week (interpreting the media in a contextual way, not just textually; equal opportunity in media not up to par with FCC recommendations), and we gave a lot more time to those issues because they were important. To be completely honest, trolling is a tangential subject that, while having to do with race and gender in the media, is barely worth a blog post here.
Barely. I have encountered a lot of trolling in my Internet-surfing days, and I've had a few personal run-ins with a troll in a Facebook group, so I'm not without experience on the subject of trolling. And, as it deals with the easiest form of participation in Internet-based media, the issue has a lot of implications beyond YouTube (online newspaper articles, community editing, etc.).
As a framework for this post, we go to YouTube (where else?) for a summary of all types of trolling. Following is a guide to help surfers identify trolls when they see them.
1) The attention whore ("First!", "Nobody can hear me! Nobody can hear my comments!") Draws attention to himself/herself by either bragging about something inconsequential or venting frustrations way too loudly. Often done with excessive use of exclamation points! or CAPS LOCK, a feature found in many trolls. Annoying, but relatively harmless, almost to the point of not being a troll. No implications.
2) The trash compactor ("Dick." "Asshole." "Douchbag.") Also known as The ad hominem fountain, flings insults succinctly and without regard for the argument or the target's feelings. Often misses the target (due to excessive compacting), leading to a domino effect of, "No, I'm right! YOU're a douchebag!" Debilitating for arguments. Without a moderator, a responsible fellow commenter, or a site admin who can delete the comment immediately, the thread devolves into a 80:20 Crap-Substance Ratio. (Caution: Use of the third option may lead to side two of The attention whore.)
3) The rain on your parade ("Photoshopped." "Simpsons did it.") Sole purpose is to diss the work being commented. Though some argue reasonably and thus avoid the troll designation, most simply try to make themselves look good by making your work seem inadequate. This strategy backfires, but it nonetheless derails conversation as you or others focus on re-establishing credibility seemingly lost.
4) The General Distractor ("I think we should discuss the new software platform." "I think we should discuss YOUR TITS!") A catch-all for those bent on either inserting sex into a conversation or airing bigotry. Such a troll attracts two kinds of responses: ones that fight fire with fire and end up burning the conversation to a crisp with "Go back to your outhouse" replies to "Make me a sammich, woman;" and ones that try to bring the conversation back with, "I think the real point here is..." and other cute attempts at civility.
5) The n00b ("What does 'pwn' mean?") Often met with scorn from other commenters (see The trash compactor and The General Distractor), who throw out "poser" and related terms. Legitimately doesn't show a lot of knowledge about the subject, and often tries to pretend to know a lot about the subject. Distraction potential can range from a simple "n00b" from someone else (end there) to corrections of egregiously wrong facts (variable duration, depending on how many commenters feel indignant or offended at the n00bness of the n00b). If a culture has developed around the thread or subject, a n00b can be perceived to ruin the delicate balance of a well-functioning Internet group that was getting along just fine before you screwed everything up, thank you very much.
